


The New Moon

by beastlyrose



Series: Anger and Pride [2]
Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: Brotherly Bonding, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Inuyasha's mouth, Licking, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-12
Updated: 2020-05-12
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:28:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24140602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beastlyrose/pseuds/beastlyrose
Summary: Inuyasha was always hyper aware of the lunar cycle, except it seems when his brother's presence stops him from remembering his one vulnerable night.
Relationships: InuYasha & Sesshoumaru (InuYasha), InuYasha/Sesshoumaru (InuYasha)
Series: Anger and Pride [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1742074
Comments: 6
Kudos: 305





	The New Moon

“Neh, Inuyasha, when is Rin going to come for a visit?” Shippo asked

“I’ve told you about a hundred times already brat. Nii-sama said they’ll be here in 2 days time and they’ll join us for at least a day,” Inuyasha grumbled.

“Oh, I just realized that you timed it perfectly so they’d arrive on the day of the New Moon” Sango said, suddenly realizing that it was that getting close to that period again.

The hanyou stumbled to a halt at Sango's words. He paled, not having put the actual dates together like he should have. They didn’t plan it intentionally so Sesshomaru could help watch over the group during Inuyasha’s human night—that was pure coincidence. In fact, he was pretty sure that his older brother wasn’t even aware of what happened to him on the eve of the New Moon. Suddenly, Inuyasha felt like he was going to throw up.

“Oh, you’re right Sango! Maybe you can finally get a good night’s sleep when you’re human, Inuyasha,” Kagome said, not noticing that her friend was not at all pleased at the timing of Sesshomaru's arrival.

“Inuyasha?” Kagome turned around when she didn’t hear a response only to see the frozen hanyou. “Woah! Inuyasha, it’s okay, you’re okay,” Kagome reached out to her friend and gently brought him into a hug. “Listen to my heartbeat, you’re okay.”

“Are we to understand that Sesshomaru-dono doesn’t know about your human nights?” Miroku asked once some colour had returned to his friend’s cheeks.

“Che.” Inuyasha manoeuvred himself out from Kagome’s embrace and crossed his arms looking away from the group. ‘Jeez, way to go baka. Freaking out in front of a kid and a bunch of humans.’

“Inuyasha, why are you scared? Sesshomaru doesn’t hate humans. He even tolerates Miroku, and some humans can't even tolerate him!” Shippo said, trying to cheer up the older demon.

“I ain’t scared!” Inuayasha barked out. “Just ignore me. Forget what happened, I was being stupid.” He glared at the group.

With a grunt, he stomped off with an excuse of scouting ahead. The others watched him run away with a sigh. They were all under no illusion with regards to Inuyasha's internal struggle—the half demon just needed time to recenter his emotions. The matter would settle itself, as it always had in the past.

* * *

Inuyasha was absolutely not running away. Nope. If anyone were to declare that the hanyou would ever run away then they would be the crazy one, not him.

He just needed some distance between the humans and fox kit who thought he was scared to face his brother as a human. He didn’t want their stupidity to rub off on him.

The demon found a spot that was far enough away that he wouldn’t be able to hear what the group was saying, but close enough to sense any incoming trouble. He situated himself on a comfy enough branch, feeling most at home when he was nestled in a large tree. Not that he necessarily needed the comfort right now, but if he found it then why not take advantage?

Sesshomaru… Ugh, where to begin. Not only was his presence all consuming—nobody could deny the power he held—Inuyasha’s thoughts were also often about the daiyoukai.

Ever since that day when he’d sucked up his pride, Inuyasha had felt a peace that he had never experienced before. It was a feeling for which he thinks he’d been yearning since he was a pup. A peace that he thought he’d achieved with Kikyo but really, that paled in comparison to the sense of belonging he got with his brother.

‘Che, who knew that actually offering up my neck would stop him from actually trying to sever it.’

The brothers still didn’t see each other that often; only a few days every couple of weeks or so. But each time they saw each other, they’d greeted each other as family.

Thank-god Inuyasha had only been born with canine ears. He didn’t think he could live through the embarrassment of an overly excitable tail because as it was, he could barely hide how happy he was whenever his brother licks his jaw or nips at his neck and ears. Who knew the standoffish demon was so affectionate with fellow inuyoukai.

Inuyasha had learnt throughout his life that happiness was fleeting. He only had his mother for a short little while before she passed, and then he was alone for over a century. Kikyo was no different. Looking back, most of his life was filled with misery. The thought that he might lose his brother’s affection because of his weakness—that his happiness might disappear because of the damned moon—it crippled him.

“Baka” Inuyasha chided himself. This was different from the past. His mother and Kikyo were both humans and they both died. His brother wasn't going to die. If he looked at the past, even when they weren't on good terms, his brother was still around. There was no real reason for him to worry. The worst that could happen was Sesshomaru hating him for something stupid the hanyou would do, or pretending to hate him, again. The more he thought about their most recent interactions, the more Inuyasha wondered if his brother ever hated him.

With a shake of his head, Inuyasha leapt down from the tree. The others were nearby and he needed to get out of his head. He was letting past hurts get to him, and that had never done him any good.

* * *

The day preceding the night of the New Moon arrived. Inuyasha was...not on edge, more vigilantly keeping his senses on the lookout for his brother’s arrival. Someone had to be on guard since the rest of his companions seemed set on being woefully unaware of their surroundings.

Shippo kept practicing his fox magic and transforming rocks into all manners of creatures. Something he had been working on for a while and was anxiously waiting to be able to show off to Rin.

Miroku and Sango were bickering over Miroku’s behaviour at the last village that they had passed through yesterday. Nothing new there—the monk would never learn.

And finally, Kagome kept anally checking her bag to make sure she still had the treats for Rin that she brought from her home. As if anyone among them was going to steal something intended for Sesshomaru’s ward.

Suffice to say, Inuyasha was blissfully, or not so blissfully, unaware that his friends’ were deliberate in their actions in an effort to distract him from his worries. The hanyou remained anxious for the entire day.

The sun was nearing the horizon and the group decided to stop and set up camp after finding a nice defensible rocky outcrop with a great view of the sunset.

“Do you think they’ve been waylaid? Should we go searching for them tomorrow?” Kagome asked after they had settled in, worry present in her voice.

“Knowing the bastard, he probably got roped into one of Rin’s schemes. As much as he puts on a cold front, he cares a lot for the brat. They’ll show up before morning. He and A-Un can fly after all, and they can cover a lot of ground once Rin falls asleep.”

The sun had set at this point and Inuyasha’s emotions were running rampant, having already transitioned into his human form. He was grumpy, couldn’t see shit, and couldn’t force his emotions into submission with his demonic stubbornness.

“Otouto, refrain from using such uncultured vocabulary around Rin.”

Inuyasha whipped his head up and stood up so fast that he almost stumbled over his own feet. “Nii-sama,” he said in greeting.

The hanyou, turned human, cursed his bad eyesight. He couldn’t quite make-out his brother’s expression, but he could see a bundle in his brother’s arm. Looks like he had been correct in his assumption that Rin would be fast asleep when they arrived.

“Miko, take Rin to get settled. Jaken knows where her furs are.”

“Jeez, you could learn to say please,” Inuyasha heard Kagome mutter under her breath. He knew those words were accompanied by an eye-roll.

Sesshomaru remained unaffected by Kagome’s words or actions. Inuyasha wasn’t sure if he was imagining things but he could have sworn his brother’s eyes never strayed from his human form. He unsuccessfully attempted to reassure himself that it was just from surprise at seeing his human form for the first time.

His brother spoke once again as soon as Kagome had taken Rin from his person. “Otouto, will you join me” The words were in the form of a question, but Sesshomaru’s delivery said otherwise. The daiyoukai turned around and began to walk away from their camp, not even waiting for a response, leaving Inuyasha to hurry after him.

Once they were out of human earshot, Sesshomaru abruptly turned around which almost caused Inuyasha to bump into his brother.

“Inuyasha, you are currently a full human.” the daiyoukai’s eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly. 

“Uhh, no shit,” Inuyasha looked at his brother incredulously. “Guess it’s part of the half-breed package. I turn human every new moon,” he shrugged and scratched his arm in a nervous fashion.

“And you only told this Sesshomaru of these occurrences now?” the slightest uptick in his brow.

“Che, I didn’t even realize that the new moon was the same day we were meant to meet up. By the time I realized, it was too late to change days,” Inuyasha said with more bravado than he felt. His defences instinctively went up at his brother's challenging tone.

“I see.” Sesshomaru said, his expression going absolutely blank. He stood still, just staring at his younger brother’s human form.

The prolonged silence was stirring up Inuyasha’s old doubts and before he even realized he was doing it, he had taken a half step away from his brother, unable to weather the older demon’s intense gaze. It was too reminiscent of the stares he had received all throughout his life that were hatefully thrown in is direction because of his mixed status.

Sesshomaru did not miss a single action from his brother. Face still blank of expression, he said “Do not worry, otouto. You need not concern yourself with this Sesshomaru.”

With only those words as an explanation, the daiyoukai turned around and began to walk further away.

“Wait just one second. What the fuck?!” Inuyasha was confused. He missed something in their exchange, and while his brother was a demon of very few words, this was way too few, especially given the sensitive nature of this topic. There was no way in hell that he was going to let his brother leave without a clearer explanation. Pushing down the hurt, Inuyasha focused on his anger.

“Where the hell do you think you’re going, you bastard? Why the fuck are you leaving?” Just moments ago, Inuyasha had thought that his brother was going to strike him for daring to become human once a month. Instead of striking him though, the daiyoukai went and tried to remove himself from the situation and implied that he was doing it as some sort of bizarre favour. As if. Inuyasha didn't want his brother to go. He would rather suffer from his wrath than be exiled.

Sesshomaru stopped mid step and then turned around to face Inuyasha once again. “This Sesshomaru knows when he is not welcome,” his cool mask only caused to further enrage Inuyasha.

“No you fucking don’t.” Inuyasha grit his teeth. Yep. They had both missed something. It was an indisputable fact that the two inu brothers were not masters at communication. One could even describe them as dense, not that either one would ever let you get away with actually saying it out loud.

“You are an idiot when it comes to emotions.” Inuyasha was vaguely aware that he was the pot calling the kettle black. In this case, he felt it was justified because his brother was the one who wanted to leave instead of talking everything out.

Sesshomaru growled at his brother in warning. “This Sesshomaru will not stay here and listen to your insults.”

“Yes, you fucking will!” Inuyasha glared at his brother; an act that was returned tenfold with the addition of youki, but Inuyasha was not going to back down. He was not going to lose his brother. “Stay.” he growled out, almost mimicking a real demon growl. Impressive given his human vocal cords.

It took a few more moments of the two brothers stubbornly facing off before Inuyasha’s words finally seemed to sink in. The daiyoukai's youki retreated but Inuyasha stayed where he was and continued his glare, though there was no longer the same intense emotion behind it.

God, he hoped his brother understood. The hanyou was already physically vulnerable that night and he really would prefer not to open himself up even more by detailing all the insecurities he had about his human night to get his brother to stay. Still, if the message still hadn't make it through his brother's thick skull, he would have no choice but to expose even more of himself.

Sesshomaru walked up to his younger brother, his eyes no longer as cold as they were moments before. “This Sesshomaru will stay.”

Hearing those words, Inuyasha finally let himself relax. The only lies his brother had ever told him were those of plans for his demise at his own brother’s hands. The older demon wasn’t going anywhere tonight. Inuyasha let out a sigh of relief and almost choked when he felt the rush of emotions appear from behind his anger. Nope, he wasn't going to cry. That was not happening tonight.

Sesshomaru reached out with his hand and lifted his brother’s chin up so he could look down at the entirety of his little brother’s face. Inuyasha's eyes met his—they were glassy from unshed tears. In response, Sesshomaru tilted his own head down and offered up little licks along his brother’s jaw in greeting.

The daiyoukai's licks became more insistent and when Sesshomaru showed no sign of stopping and was even moving up to lick the contours of Inuyasha’s ears, the hanyou, turned human, gave him a shove. A poor attempt to get his brother to back off.

“Alright, alright. I get it. You can stop apologizing.” This was the first time that Inuyasha had been in such close proximity with his brother as a human. He found himself overheating. Despite his cold disposition, the daiyoukai ran inhumanly warm.

Sesshomaru let himself be pushed away from the human’s face but stayed rooted close to his brother. “This Sesshomaru does not apologize.”

“Sure, sure. Whatever you say nii-sama.” Inuyasha rolled his eyes but there was no real annoyance. Once again he was eternally happy that he has been blessed without a tail.

“Come on, let’s head back to the others.” Inuyasha started to turn around to head back the way they came but was stopped by a growl. When he looked back up at his brother in confusion, he saw a perfect example of an aloof demon but by now, he knew better.

“Oops, my bad.” Inuyasha apologized as soon as he realized that he had forgotten to return their normal greeting. It surprised him and reinforced just how emotionally draining the whole exchange had been for the hanyou—it took a lot to forget something that had become muscle memory at this point.

Inuyasha leaned up and returned the jaw licks. It felt strange performing the greeting as a human—it didn't give him the same warm sensation that he felt in his half demon form. Urged by human instinct, Inuyasha leaned in closer to rub his cheek against his brother's jaw, relaxing further at the familiar smell of his brother.

Sesshomaru let out a quiet rumble of satisfaction. He was pleased that his brother understood what he had been requesting without having to explicitly hear it as spoken word. He rewarded his packmate with a soft touch to the nape of his brother’s neck, careful of his claws, exceedingly aware of Inuyasha’s current fragility.

“Let’s go back. All this has really tired me out… Seriously, why do you always have to be such a drama queen.” Sesshomaru let out another growl and playfully nipped on his brother’s exposed neck. The human was asking for it.

“Goddammit, fine! You are the exact opposite of a drama queen. You brute.” Inuyasha gave out a yawn.

“Wow… I really am tired. Hey, since you’re here I might actually be able to sleep,” Inuyasha smiled up at his brother.

Yes. Sesshomaru would protect his packmate. His primal demon preened itself when it heard that his packmate felt safe; that Inuyasha would let himself sleep during his most vulnerable state knowing that his brother kept watch. The demon settled further into contentment when it was sent such rare and genuine smile from his packmate. If Sesshomaru were a cat demon, he was certain he would be purring up at storm, but he was not, so he remained quiet.

Sesshomaru stayed close to his brother throughout the entire night. The hanyou turned human fell asleep quickly once he had settled down. While normally expressive, Inuyasha was even more so as a human and it looked like he was having a pleasant dream.

The daiyoukai indulged himself by taking in every expression, every breath his brother took while he slept. Nothing would disturb his brother’s slumber while he was on guard.

**Author's Note:**

> Well, did not expect to crank out another one of these. I went from no fics to two in the span of 24 hours. This scene was just begging to be written.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed reading it!
> 
> Edit 1: More feelings at the end
> 
> Edit 2: The 3rd and last one-shot instalment to this series is now up!


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